Grasp the Moment
We often take the simple moments in our life for granted. We do not realize how our actions in any moment can impact our life. Pastor T.D. Jakes gave a powerful message called Grasping the Moment where he describes how a choice in the moment can change our lives. I pray that you will grasp every moment after hearing this dynamic word. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBM5dNQJJYs
Affirmations: Matthew 10:20; Luke 24:32; Ephesians 6:19, Isaiah 55:11
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Coping With Crises (2)
“Keep…growing in knowledge and understanding.'“ Php 1:9 NLT
When you find yourself in a crisis, having the right attitude makes the difference between despair and determination. Dr. Jeffrey Rossman offers these six steps: (1) Look for ways to find meaning. Resilient people use their experience to help others “[God] comforts us every time we have trouble, so when others have trouble, we can comfort them” (2Co 1:4 NCV). (2) Examine your priorities. “Teach us to use wisely all the time we have: (Ps 90:12 CEV). How would you like to spend your time differently now? Who would you most like to spend it with? How can you use your strengths in the service of what is important to you? If you had only a year to live, what conversations would you want to have? What kind of person would you want to be? (3) Believe you can bounce back. A crucial aspect of resilience is faith in your ability to cope. Even if you have the practical will skills to deal with the issues at hand, unless you believe in your emotional flexibility, you will waiver. (4) Get moving. Physical exercise boosts your energy and mood. It reinforces your ability to take charge of your health and well-being. (5) Step out of your comfort zone. “Keep… growing in knowledge and understanding.” Learn a new language or computer program; begin a project at home or work. Embracing the unfamiliar strengthens your confidence and capacity to handle new situations. The more you require of yourself, the more resilient you will become. (6) Clear the weeds that are choking your optimism. When you start thinking pessimistic or cynical thoughts, step back and reframe your perspective by looking for concrete steps to solve the problem.
Source: The Word For You Today
Affirmations: Matthew 10:20; Luke 24:32; Ephesians 6:19, Isaiah 55:11
You can also follow me at JCCMinistriestv:
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My recently published book Life’s Journey is now available at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08VYJKJ9K/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_6Z95ANB487AMDF3VTDP9
Coping With Crises (1)
“When my spirit was overwhelmed within me…You knew my path.” Ps 142:3 NKJV
How you handle a crisis can determine whether you end up feeling overwhelmed or come out stronger. Dr. Jeffrey Rossman suggests five ways to do it: (1) Acknowledge your feelings. David said, “When my spirit was overwhelmed…You knew my path.” God already knows how you feel, and stifling your emotions just saps your energy, leaves you tense, depressed, and slows the healing process. (2) Confide in someone. That doesn’t mean pouring your heart out to everybody and anybody; it means opening up to those who love and care about you. The Bible says, “A friend loves at all times, and is born as is a brother, for adversity” (Pr 17:17 AMPC). Numerous studies have confirmed the power of social support to help us through crises and stay healthy. (3) Start a journal or a blog. Writing about a traumatic event is a way of letting it out. It minimizes your chances of becoming sick or depressed; the more you write, the more your negative responses to the memory diminish. (4) Refuse to play the blame game: “It’s the other guy’s fault,” or “The doctor botched the procedure,” or “The boss never gave me a chance.” Blame-shifting makes others responsible for your pain, and more often than not, it results in lingering grudges that prolong your misery. Let go of toxic bitterness and judgment. Stop feeling like a doormat; you can forgive while taking steps to make yourself less vulnerable next time. (5) Forgive yourself. Surprise—you’re human like everybody else! Acknowledge you made a mistake, ask God for forgiveness, then forgive yourself and move on. God’s Word says when he forgives, He doesn’t “keep a list of your sins” (Isa 43:25 MSG). Neither Should you.
Source: Word For You Today
Affirmations: Matthew 10:20; Luke 24:32; Ephesians 6:19, Isaiah 55:11
You can also follow me at JCCMinistriestv:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMoEcr3koSqRbqVma5EGWgA/videos
My recently published book Life’s Journey is now available at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08VYJKJ9K/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_6Z95ANB487AMDF3VTDP9
Keep Pressing On
I am sharing once again from my Word For You Today devotional.
“Straining toward what is ahead, I press on.” Php 3:3, NIV
Developing your faith is like taking swimming lessons. Observe: (1) Fear is like water; If you let it, it will take you under, (2) You can only tread water for so long before you drown. (3) When you reach a certain point, there’s no turning back. (4) Faith is like the air in your lungs; it will sustain you and keep you afloat if you just relax. Have you ever watched a seasoned swimmer? Stoke after stroke, he takes what’s in front of him and pushes it behind him, letting it propel him toward his goal. He literally takes what stands between him and his goal, and uses it to get there. Sometimes we despair and say, I’m just keeping my head above water,” and that’s okay as long as you keep “stroking” and pressing on. It’s when you feel backed into a corner with nowhere to turn, that you’ve got to take hold of the faith God has placed within your and keep moving forward. Jesus said, The Kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force” (Mt 11:12). The word “violence” suggests ferocity, passion, and intensity. You must be relentless and fight your way through, confident that God is on your side—because He is (See Ps 56:9). The waters you’re in don’t determine your destiny; they either carry you over or take you under. It takes faith to keep going. When you quit, God can do-nothing more for you! So today whether you’re doing the breaststroke, the backstroke, or some other kind of stroke that nobody’s ever heard of—keep pressing on.
Affirmations: Matthew 10:20; Luke 24:32; Ephesians 6:19, Isaiah 55:11
You can also follow me at JCCMinistriestv:
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My recently published book Life’s Journey is now available at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08VYJKJ9K/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_6Z95ANB487AMDF3VTDP9
Perfecting Obedience
The Holy Spirit has been speaking to me about obedience. He has actually been drilling down obedience into every area of my life. Literally I hear him speaking to me about anything that I am about to do. I can hear Him giving me instructions. He has me focused on studying the scriptures about the outcome of obedience versus disobedience. What a lesson it has been for me!
Today was a prime example. I was headed to the local grocery store when I heard the Holy Spirit ask, “What are you going to the store for?” I said, “I am going to purchase two items onions and turnip greens.” I heard the Holy Spirit say, “That is correct, onions and turnip greens.” I said, “Okay!” When I got into the store the first thing I saw were delicious looking green grapes. I walked over to them and I picked up a bag and then my spirit felt a nudge reminding me of the turnip greens and onions. I asked the Holy Spirit, “May I get a bag of grapes as well?” The Holy Spirit said, “Yes.” I walked a little further and saw some cherries. I said to myself, “Oh! I should get some of those for my parents! They would really like them!” Before even picking them up I could feel another nudge in my heart. I said, “Holy Spirit can I purchase these cherries for my parents?” Then the only words I heard was, “Saul was disobedient and it cost him.”
When we decide we truly want to walk with God and we want Him in every area of our life, He will teach us in the simplest things, such as how to hear Him and be obedient to His word. Scriptures says that if we can be faithful over a few things God will make you ruler over many. First He has to make sure that we are going to be obedient over the little things. I don’t think there was anything wrong with purchasing cherries for my parents. I believe that because God was teaching me about obedience in everything, I couldn’t let anything get in the way of following His instructions; even if it was about buying something else I thought was good!
Affirmations: Matthew 10:20; Luke 24:32; Ephesians 6:19, Isaiah 55:11
You can also follow me at JCCMinistriestv:
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My recently published book Life’s Journey is now available at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08VYJKJ9K/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_6Z95ANB487AMDF3VTDP9
The Stretch
It all begins with an idea.
You know how we say, “God, I want to be used by you! God, use me more for your kingdom.” Well, I am feeling that tug of a stretch again. I guess we want God to use us on our terms. I want to be used by God, but I don’t necessarily want the stretch. I looked up the word stretch in the dictionary and it means: of something soft or elastic, be made or be capable of being made longer or wider without tearing or breaking.
When we are being stretched by God, we are made better and we ascend to a higher calling with Him. But I must say, many times being stretched takes us out of our comfort zone and it requires change in us. Change - that is such a simple word with so much power behind it. I remember whenever we made a change at the office, we would do a lot of preparation behind the scenes to get staff ready for what kind of change was going to take place. We wanted the transition to be as easy as possible without a lot of controversy. Most of the time the change went well. It was the reaction to the change that caused the controversy.
As I sit here writing this post, I can feel my reaction to the change that is coming. My flesh does not want to change, but my spirit knows it has to happen if I am going to stay in alignment with God. I know God has already done a lot of preparation for me to walk this new level of stretch. I can tell you that at times it is hard to beat back this flesh!
This is the warfare that we have; our spirit wants to be obedient and our flesh wants its own way! I know in my spirit I am prepared and ready for what is before me, but it is going to cause me to make a sacrifice, and that is where my flesh is warring.
These words ring deep in my soul. We have two people inside of us and we have to get to a place where the older serves the younger. My flesh man has to serve my spirit man and this is the war that rages inside when change comes. As Paul so eloquently stated in scripture So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin. Romans 7:21-25, ESV The only way to walk this out is through the help of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!
Affirmations: Matthew 10:20; Luke 24:32; Ephesians 6:19, Isaiah 55:11
You can also follow me at JCCMinistriestv:
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My recently published book Life’s Journey is now available at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08VYJKJ9K/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_6Z95ANB487AMDF3VTDP9
What is Faith?
It all begins with an idea.
…God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. Romans 12:3, ESV
It is actually believing in something we cannot see, feel, taste, touch or hear. Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain what we do not see in the natural. Our five senses do not work when we have faith. My body and flesh do not have faith. Faith resides in my spirit.
We are a spirit, we live in a body and we have a soul which is our mind, will and emotions. Over time we have learned to operate out of our body which includes our five senses. We have come to rely on our senses so much that it can become difficult to operate in our gift of faith. I’d like to challenge you with something. Take a moment and and listen to your spirit. Literally pause right now and just listen to your spirit. Did you notice that your spirit did not need to feel, taste, touch, hear or see any thing from your physical body? Our spirit works independent of our body. Our spirit only needs the body to operate here in the earth. When our assignment is finished here on earth our spirit goes back to God. The only thing left of us on earth is our body. We have all seen a dead body and we know that their spirit is gone.
We cannot see our spirit, we cannot touch our spirit, we cannot hear with our natural ears our spirit, nor can we taste our spirit. However, we know that our spirit is there. Welcome to faith! Our God is a spirit. We cannot physically see, feel, taste, touch or hear him, yet we experience all those senses with Him in the spiritual supernatural realm.
When we walk in faith, it is our spirit talking to God’s Spirit and we believe He heard us. We believe He has answered our request because He said that if we ask it would be given unto us. “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Matthew 7:7-8, KJV
At times it can seem like we don’t have any faith at all, simply because we are living in a situation that is not our desire or things are very difficult. I want to encourage you that you have all the faith you need. Our five senses in the physical can be our enemies of our faith in God. But be encouraged because scripture says …God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. Romans 12:3, ESV
Remember this, the first human failed the test of faith so don’t be hard on yourself. God has given us the faith we need to believe in whatever He has put in our spirit. He has also given us His word the Bible to increase our faith in anything that we face. Scripture says So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing the word of God. Romans 10:17, KJV
Father, thank you for your love and the generosity of faith you have given us. We believe in you and we know that you are real. We pray that you will help the part of us where there is unbelief that it will be transformed into great faith. We surrender ourselves to you this we pray in Jesus’ name Amen!
Affirmations: Matthew 10:20; Luke 24:32; Ephesians 6:19, Isaiah 55:11
You can also follow me at JCCMinistriestv:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMoEcr3koSqRbqVma5EGWgA/videos
You can also follow me at JCCMinistriestv:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMoEcr3koSqRbqVma5EGWgA/videos
My recently published book Life’s Journey is now available at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08VYJKJ9K/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_6Z95ANB487AMDF3VTDP9